Blacking-guard.



PATENTED MAY 15, 1906.

E. A. HAWKINS. BLAGKING GUARD. APPLICATION FIIZED APR.28. 1905.

\x/l' rdrzssss BY 1 y.

.ess ofapplying the blacking to the shoe and .cisegreat care UNITED ISTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELBERT ALLEN HAWKINS, or ROCHESTER, .NEW YORK.

BLACKING-LGUARD.'-

Specification of Letters Patent.

katented. May 15, 1-906;

' Application filed Apri128,1905. Serial lie- 257,932.

To all whom it may concern:

KINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rochester, in thecounty of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedBlacking-Guard, of which the fol-, lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to means for preventing the soiling of the hosein the proc in polis ng the same, the purpose bein to overcome thedifliculty which has hereto ore been experienced in a plying blackini.lto shoes, especially low s oes, and polis 'ng them, in that it has beennecessary to exerto prevent the soiling of the hose by the contacttherewith of the brush usedin applying the blacking or. in polishing thesame.

The invention consists. in guards, prefer- 'b e and to the foot, of theuser upon being inserted between the shoe and the foot with the hosethereon;

After devising a number of forms I have found that such guard mayconsist conveniently oftwo pieces to be used in a shoe,

when roperly conformed and of suitable ma terial, so as to fully protectthe hose, and at the same time such pieces ma be adjustable over aconsiderable range of ifierence in the sizes of the shoe and foottherein.

It is preferable, of course, that such guards be com osed of somematerial which Wlll ermit of t eir being readily cleansed or was ed.This is an im 'ortant feature in order that the blacking', w 'ch hasaccumulated on the guards in blacking the shoes in one operation, may beremoved so that it will not soil the inside of the shoe when the guardsare used the next time. 'Ihave found that celluloid, flexible fiber, ora good grade of press-board may be used. These guards I prefer to soform that their overlapping portions, at about the center of theo eningin the shoe for the ankle,

. shall be consi erabl wider than at the instep and at the back of t eankle, as the guards at these last-mentioned points make sharper curves,as will at once be understood, than at ithe sides, where the ends ofsuch guards over- The accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention,areas follows:

Figure 1 is a view of a low shoe with my v guard in place. Be it knownthat I, ELBERT ALLEN HAW-f Fig. 2 is a developed view of one portion ofthe guard, while Fig. 3' is a developed view of the other portion.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several yiews.

As seen in the drawings, my blackinguard comprises two portions A and B,each 0 such an irregular outline that when inserted within theupper edgeof the shoe 0 the upper edge of the guard will project above the top ofthe shoe at all points and in that way form a perfectprotection for thehose. The fportionA is designed to go in the front part 0 the shoe,while the portlon B is designed for the back portion of the shoe, andthe ends of these two portions are arranged to overlap, and in that waywhen used on a small shoe they will extend by or overlap one anotherquite a distance,but when used on larger shoes these ends will overlaponly a sufiicient distance to provide the necessary protection for thehose.

It will at once be seen that the guards when conformed and used in themanner above described are readily adaptable to use with shoes varyingin size over a considerable range and afford ample protection for thehose, and that when composed of suitable material, such as indicated,they maybe read ily washed after each use, so that they may not soil thehose or the inside of'the shoe when next used. I

Attention is called to the fact, that the material of which the guardsare composed should possess such a degree of flexibility as to readilyconform to the shape of the foot and shoe of the user in eachcase, andsuch material should possesssuch a degree of elasticity and rigidity asto keep the guards firinly in contact with the inside of the shoeagainst the pressure exerted in blackingand polish- 5 ing the same toprevent superflous blacking getting inside the shoe.

What I claim is 1. As a new article of manufacture, ablackinguardconsisting. of two ieces of suitably exible and elasticmateria ada ted to be inserted within the u peredge 0 the shoe of theuser, one of sucli pieces adapted to fit around the instep and the otheraround the back of the ankle, the free ends of such pieces overlappingmore or less according to the sizeof the shoe and foot therein.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a blackinguard consisting of two.ieces of suitably exible and elastic materia adapted xio to be insertedwithin the 11 per edge of the shoe of the user, one of such piecesadapted to fit around the instep and the other around the back of theankle, and the free ends of such pieces overlappin more or lessaccording to the size of the shoe and foot therein, such pieces widenedand rounded at their free ends.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a blacking-guard consisting of twopieces of suitably flexible and elastic material ada ted to be insertedwithin the upper edge 0 the shoe of the user, one of such pieces adaptedto fit around the instep and the other around the back of the ankle, thefree ends ofvsuch pieces overlapping more or less according to the sizeof the shoe and foot therein, such free and overlapping ends widened outand havin rounded corners.

4. is a new article of manufacture ablacking-guard of suitably flexibleand elastic niaterial adapted to be inserted within the upper ELBERTALLEN HAWKINS.

Witnesses:

ALBERT C. BELL, CLARA M. SIENER

